Monopsis unidentata cultivar Royal Flush.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Monopsis plant, botanically known as Monopsis unidentata, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Royal Flushxe2x80x99.
The new Monopsis is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in George, South Africa. The new Monopsis originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor of two unidentified proprietary Monopsis unidentata selections, not patented. The new Monopsis was selected by the Inventor in March, 1998 as a single plant within the progeny of the cross-pollination on the basis of its freely flowering habit and violet blue-colored flowers.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken at George, South Africa, since April, 1998, has shown that the unique features of this new Monopsis are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar Royal Flush have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature and light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Royal Flushxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Royal Flushxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Monopsis cultivar:
1. Low grounding, trailing and mounded plant habit.
2. Freely branching, dense and bushy plant form.
3. Freely flowering habit.
4. Violet blue-colored flowers.
Plants of the cultivar Royal Flush differ from plants of the parent selections primarily in plant habit and flower color.
Plants of the new Monopsis can be compared to plants of the Monopsis cultivar Lutea, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in George, South Africa, plants of the new Monopsis differed from plants of the cultivar Lutea in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Monopsis were more compact and more mounded than plants of the cultivar Lutea.
2. Plants of the new Monopsis had larger flowers than plants of the cultivar Lutea.
3. Plants of the new Monopsis had violet blue-colored flowers whereas plants of the cultivar Lutea have yellow-colored flowers.